


Forgetful

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:48:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24204661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Jack is determined to go onstage while not feeling well, much to his bandmates' concern.
Kudos: 5





	Forgetful

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“I can’t believe that Jack’s still in his bunk, it’s already past one!” Zack said as he got a bottle of water from the tour bus fridge.  
“Yeah, it’s really weird, especially since he went to sleep so early last night after our set. We had a late bus call, and he almost never stays in when that happens,” Rian added.  
“I’ve been noticing that he’s seemed to be a bit off lately in general, and during shows. Do you guys think he’s okay?” Alex asked his friends, sounding a bit concerned.  
“I’m not really sure,” Rian admitted.  
“Well, he seems to be super tired and low energy during the day, and when we’re onstage. Maybe he’s coming down with something,” Zack said.  
“Maybe he is, but I feel like he would be complaining about how terrible he feels if he were. We all know he turns into an actual child whenever he’s under the weather,” Alex explained, earning some laughs from his friends.  
“You’ve got a point there, Alex. I guess time will tell with this,” Rian replied.   
Seconds later, the three of them heard a groan come from the bunk area, followed by heavy footsteps getting closer to the front lounge. Jack slowly walked to where his bandmates were, holding his head and looking exhausted.  
“Good morning, guys,” Jack weakly said, hobbling over to the couch to sit down next to Alex.  
“Morning? It’s already after one in the afternoon,” Zack pointed out, laughing some.  
“Whatever,” Jack mumbled, closing his eyes.  
“You don’t look so good,” Alex stated, looking at his friend.  
“I don’t feel so good, either,” Jack whined, laying his head on the back of the couch.  
“Are you sick?” Rian asked. Alex put his hand on Jack’s forehead, surprised that it wasn’t burning to the touch.  
“You don’t seem to have a temperature,” Alex said.  
“I guess this is just allergies or something, then. I also didn’t sleep very well last night for some reason, which couldn’t have helped whatever this is, anyway. To be honest, I haven’t really been sleeping great for the past few nights now,” Jack explained.  
“That’s not good, dude. Do you want us to cancel the show, or maybe shorten the set some? You really need to rest so this doesn’t get worse,” Rian suggested.  
“No, I don’t want to do any of that. We have two days off after today, so I just want to get through the full set tonight, then focus on resting up before our next show,” Jack said back.  
“I totally get where you’re coming from, but are you sure you want to play a full set? You need to rest, and I don’t know if this is really a good idea,” Alex pointed out.  
“I’m sure, I really want to play a good show tonight. Besides, I’ll rest up as much as I can from now until we go onstage. I think I’m going to go in the back lounge until we get to the venue for sound check, and just try to get some sleep and relax,” Jack decided, slowly coming to his feet.  
“Do you want any company?” Alex offered.  
“I think I’m okay, I’m just going to try to sleep, but thanks. I’ll let you guys know if I need anything,” Jack said, making his way out of the front, and to the back lounge.  
“I really don’t think he should go onstage; he seems really weak and out of it,” Zack said once Jack was out of the room.  
“I agree, I don’t know how he’s going to hold up a guitar for ninety minutes, considering he can barely walk, but I really doubt that he’s going to change his mind on this one,” Rian added.  
“I just hope that everything goes okay, but I just don’t see that happening,” Alex stated, sounding a bit worried.  
“All we can do is hope for the best, man,” Rian said, opening his laptop and starting to work on something.   
Zack pulled out his phone and started to scroll through it, and Alex looked out the window as the bus continued to move, hoping that their show that evening would go okay.  
\-------------  
“Hey man, it’s time to go onstage, are you ready?” Alex asked, walking into the green room that Jack had been resting in since their soundcheck had ended a couple hours before.  
“I guess so,” Jack replied, sitting up on the couch he’d been laying on all afternoon.  
“How’re you feeling?” Alex continued, taking a seat on the couch next to Jack.  
“I’ve started to feel really dizzy, so I guess I’ve gotten worse,” Jack replied.  
“Are you sure that you want to go onstage tonight, man? I bet we could ask the guitarist from our opener to fill in for you tonight,” Alex suggested.  
“I’ll be okay, it’s only fifteen songs, then I can spend the next two days doing as much nothing as possible to shake off whatever this shit is,” Jack decided.  
“Well, I guess we should head on over to the stage entrance, then,” Alex stated, helping Jack to his feet, and out of the green room. Rian and Zack were already there, Zack tuning up his bass.   
Alex handed Jack his guitar, and grabbed his own, as he shared a look of concern over Jack with Rian and Zack.  
“How’re you feeling, Jack?” Zack asked his friend.  
“Not great, but I’ll be fine,” Jack replied with a small smile.   
Seconds later, they were told to take the stage, so they walked on to a cheering crowd, and immediately started into their first song. It didn’t even take until the end of the first song for Jack to realize that him actually making it through their entire set was very unlikely, but he was still determined to try, since he wanted to give the fans a good show. They didn’t stop for banter as much as usual, since they all agreed that getting through the show as quickly as possible would be best for Jack.   
Once they got to their tenth song of the night, Jack started to feel extremely lightheaded, which he knew wasn’t good. While he wanted to deal with it after the song they were currently playing, he knew he couldn’t wait that long, so he stopped playing and made his way offstage.   
The rest of the band looked at each other in confusion, but played the rest of the song, without the lead guitar part. When the song ended, Alex went up to his microphone as a single spotlight was put on him.  
“Hey guys, I’ll be right back, but for now, check out the best rhythm section to ever exist, Rian and Zack!” Alex exclaimed, before quickly walking offstage. He knew it would make more sense for Rian to sneak offstage to check on Jack, but Jack was his best friend, so he decided that he had to be the one to figure out what was going on.   
Jack was sitting in a chair by the stage entrance with his head in his hands, and their manager was standing by him, looking just as worried as Alex felt.  
“Alex, you need to get back onstage, you all still have five more songs to get through,” their manager stated.  
“I will, but this is more important,” Alex replied.  
“Just don’t take too long,” their manager said, knowing that telling Alex anything else would be pointless. Alex crouched down so he was at eye level wit Jack, and Jack looked at Alex with tired eyes and a pale face.  
“How’re you doing, man?” Alex asked, sounding concerned.  
“I started feeling super lightheaded, and I’m still dizzy, and I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” Jack stated in a weak voice. Alex thought about what Jack had just told him, and suddenly realized something.  
“Wait, Jack, have you been taking your meds for your anemia? Everything you just listed are symptoms of that, that I know you’ve had before,” Alex explained.  
“Shit,” Jack mumbled.  
“What? Have you not been taking them?” Alex continued.  
“Not for, like, a week now. I keep forgetting,” Jack replied.  
“Alex, you need to get onstage,” their manager insisted.  
“Fine, get him on the bus and make sure he takes his meds. I’ll be there right after our last song,” Alex promised.   
He ran back onstage and explained to the fans that Jack wouldn’t be coming back out that night. The three of them played through the rest of their set, then Alex explained what was going on to Rian and Zack before practically sprinting to the bus to check on his friend.   
Jack was set up in the back lounge, in his PJs, with a blanket and pillow, and Home Alone playing on the TV. He looked a bit better than he did in the venue, but still looked weak and tired, worrying Alex.  
“Hey man,” Alex quietly said, sitting on the couch next to his friend.  
“Hey, Alex. Look, I’m really sorry about not finishing out the set,” Jack said, sitting up some.  
“Don’t apologize for that, it’s seriously okay. The thing that’s not okay is not taking your meds, how have you kept forgetting to do that?” Alex asked.  
“I don’t know, it just keeps slipping my mind,” Jack replied.  
“Hand me your phone,” Alex demanded. Without questioning anything, Jack pulled out his phone and handed it to Alex. After pressing a few buttons, Alex gave it back to Jack.  
“What’d you do to it?” Jack asked.  
“I set a daily reminder to go off at eleven every morning to take your meds, so this doesn’t happen again,” Alex explained.  
“Thanks for doing that, I’m really sorry I scared you and the others so much,” Jack said, sounding bit embarrassed.  
“What matters is that everything is going to be okay now. We still have a couple of days off, and you can rest up and take your meds, then be just fine for our next shows,” Alex said, making both of them smile some.  
“I will, don’t worry. Do you want to watch this movie with me?” Jack asked back.  
“I’d love to,” Alex replied with a smile. Alex got comfortable on his side of the couch, and spent the rest of his evening with Jack, relieved that everything was going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for someone on here! This was supposed to go up yesterday, but I ended up rewriting this because I didn't like how the original turned out, which is why it's going up today instead! I apologize for the slight wait with this one! I have a couple requests I'm currently working on, but always feel free to send more in, I love writing your all's ideas! I came up with some original ideas that I plan on posting soon, as well, and I'm very excited to share them with you guys! I hope you all liked this fic, and I'll have another up on Sunday! Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
